Preparing for Destiny
by Kat Warrior1
Summary: OLD! JakKeira. Jak and Keira had been living in the same village all their lives, but until Keira gets herself into a dire situation, the two are no more than acquaintences. UPDATED WITH NOTE ABOUT JAK TALKING.


Preparing for Destiny Kat Warrior

NOTE: FOR THE LOVE OF CRAP PEOPLE! Stop complaining about Jak talking! If he's mute, how the heck does he SCREAM when you fall in a pit in the first game! His vocal cords work FINE! He just doesn't use them! STOP reviewing with that! It will be DELETED! I DON'T CARE if he doesn't talk! His relationship with Keira is special, so he might talk to her alone at first! Honestly, it's a waste of space, my time and yours.

Author Note: Wow, my first completed Jak and Daxter fic! You see, I started one the year the game came out and well, I just never finished. But who knows. it might happen! Anyway, this is a Jak/Keira story. I don't know what's up with all the Jak/Daxter stuff floating around, but I'm going to tell you here and now that I'm not supportive or a part of it. So, just read the fic if you love the couple. If you prefer Jak with Daxter it ain't my fault if you get mad. You were warned.

The late summer air was warm and friendly as Keira made her way to the Forbidden Jungle. She knew that her father wouldn't be pleased with her for wondering into one of the most dangerous parts of the island, but she couldn't stand not to any more.

Keira had heard the old villagers talking about how beautiful the jungle was, and she wanted to see some of the ancient Precursor machinery that was still standing, or at least was rumored to be. And then there was another reason she had come. Keira had been looking through her father's book and spotted a beautiful stone. The book had said that the Forbidden Jungle was one of the few places to find it, and so she had eagerly set out. Besides that, she might be able to find a Precursor relic that would please her father so that he wouldn't be quite so angry about her sneaking out.

As she traveled along the river-bank, Keira was grateful that she didn't run into any of the dangerous snakes or frogs that lurked the jungle. She'd heard that they usually came out at night, however, and so figured that she was safe. There were eels and dangerous fish in the river, but she planned to search the more shallow areas where the eels and fish were less likely to be.

She finally found a promising-looking area and at down on the river's edge to sort through the rocks under the chilly water. She lost track of the time as she looked, but her efforts were paid off. Finally, she victoriously held up a rock about the size of her hand. It was as smooth and rounded as an egg and blue in color with sparkling red flecks in it. It was even more beautiful up-close than it had been in the book. She finally stopped looking at it and stowed it in her small bag before getting to her feet.

The sun was still in the sky, but working on setting. She would have to hurry if she wanted to find something that would please her father. She turned at looked around her. Right behind her was a steep wall of rock that lead out of the tiny gorge that the river was in. Just over the grassy ledge she could see a rather large structure that looked like a perfect place to find a relic. Not wanting to waste time looking for a better route, she started climbing.

Much to Keira's surprise, she was doing well. She was nearly to the top when she rested her foot on a mossy rock. She felt herself slipping, but was determined not to fall. If she landed in the river, she would doubtlessly get hurt or perhaps even killed.

Her arms grew tired as she clung to the rock for dear life and tried to regain her footing. She could feel tears coming to her eyes, but she refused to cry. She was thirteen, after all, and too mature to cry from fear. But even so, she couldn't help but feel very foolish. She should have listened to her father and stayed away from that horrible jungle. She no longer felt that the stupid rock was worth her troubles.

Inevitably, she lost her hold. She let a frightened cry slip as she fell and cried out again when she felt a searing pain in her leg just before she collided with the dry ground below and all went dark.

About half an hour later, Keira forced her eyes open. The sky above her spun at first, but once it became clear she realized that the sun was setting. And her leg hurt just as badly as it had while she had been falling. She forced herself into a sitting position and looked at it. Her right calf had been scraped on the rock as she was falling. Blood had oozed out of it, making it look as painful as it felt. As Keira looked around she thought she saw pairs of small lights that were likely the eyes of wild animals, but she couldn't tell. Her vision was blurred from the large amount of tears forming in her eyes.

She was hurt, alone, scared, and the air was getting chilly. It would be dark very soon and she was defenseless against the creatures of the night. And her father was doubtlessly worried sick about her. She sobbed and buried her face in her hands as the thought that she might never see him again struck her.

There was a sudden thump right in front of her and she dared to look up, expecting to see a dangerous animal. But she was in for quite a surprise. The older boy from the village, Jak, was crouching in front of her. They'd been living in the same village all their lives and she'd spoken to him a few times, so she considered him more of an acquaintance than a friend. Besides, he usually had that annoying, loud-mouthed short kid with him. What was his name? Daxter? But Keira had always found Jak mysteriously charming, and good-looking besides.

"How did you find me?" she asked the tall blonde boy, trying to hide the fact that she'd been crying. She was suddenly very embarrassed at how childish she must have appeared.

"Daxter and I had a little argument, so I ran off to this jungle to let off some steam," he replied. Surprisingly, his voice didn't have a hint of bitterness when he mentioned his friend's name. He did very well at keeping his anger under control. "How did you hurt yourself?" he asked when he noticed that her leg was injured.

"Oh. uh. I was trying to climb up there so I could see what's in that tower," she told him, pointing up the ledge and to what could be seen of the structure. "I originally cam here to find a rainbow stone. I found it, but I knew father would be unhappy about my coming here, so I wanted to find a Precursor artifact to make it up to him." She bowed her head and blushed heavily for a reason she could not discern. For some reason the blonde boy's sapphire eyes made her feel. unusual.

"Well," he said, looking at her lower-leg, "I think you'll be able to walk on it, but it might hurt. a lot." Without another word, he started taking off the white cloth wrapped around his lower-right arm. Keira was slightly surprised when he wrapped it around the wound on her leg.

As Jak bandaged the girl's leg, he felt his face go bright red. He'd thought this girl was cute ever since he'd known what a girl was. And now here he was, helping her out. He felt horrible that she had hurt herself. He wished that he had escorted her into the jungle so that he could take all the blame from her father and so that he could have prevented her from getting hurt.

When Jak finished putting the make-shift bandage on Keira's leg, he stood, and much to the girl's surprise, he scooped her up in his arms. She was also surprised at how strong he was. He had lifted her like she was just a pillow. With some hesitation, Keira put her arms around Jak's neck as he proceeded to hurry out of the jungle. They both blushed, but avoided eye- contact.

Samos paced his hut, fuming. Keira was sitting on a bench, her leg almost healed due to the green Eco he had used on it. He was happy to have her back alive, but he was still angry. His daughter - his only daughter - had disobeyed him, and what was worse was that she could have been killed.

"I just don't know what to say," he huffed, and then turned to Jak's uncle, who was also in the hut along with Jak. "What do you think?"

"I'm not sure," the taller elf admitted, "Jak, I told you that you shouldn't go into the jungle, especially not without an adult escort! But if you hadn't gone, Keira might not have ever come home. And Daxter has been worried sick about you even since the argument you two had this afternoon."

"Where is he?" Jak ventured quietly, never taking his eyes off the floor.

"In bed," his uncle replied shortly. "I've decided that you are not allowed to leave the village for a week. You are not even allowed to go to Sentinel Beach. Am I clear?"

Jak nodded quietly and rubbed the back of his neck. It was just one of his odd habits, especially when he was agitated or ashamed, as he was now.

"The same goes for you," Samos said to Keira, pointing his staff at her. Just be happy I don't ground you to the house for a week. Come now," he sighed, lifting her with telekinesis, "I'll take you down to your room."

As Jak left the hut, he and Keira managed to cast warm smiles at each other. Keira was suddenly happy that she had gone into the jungle. Not because she had been rebellious, but because she had found a rainbow rock. and maybe something more. Being grounded to the village for a week actually didn't sound too bad. After all, Jak's house wasn't too far away.

.The beginning of a wonderful romance.

A/N: Well, what did ya think? I'm rather happy with it. Yeah, it was short, but I like to start off my fan fics for various things that way. And just so you know, Jak did talk to Daxter the next day and now they're buddies again. And (incase you hadn't figured it out) this took place two or three years before "Jak and Daxter: the Precursor Legacy", so since I think Jak is sixteen in that game, he's fourteen here and Daxter is. uh. eleven or twelve I suppose. shrug Please let me know what you thought! Just don't flame me for pairing up Keira and Jak. You were warned ahead of time.

Also, I don't hate Daxter, but I figured that before Keira might have at some point. I think that in the game she's learned to tolerate him, but since in this story she didn't know him yet, she was really annoyed by him. And let me know if you find typos. I might fix them eventually. :p

All characters are property of Naughty Dog. 


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